Darter! You Could Have HELPED Me!

So, when we last left our hero, we were given the motive for Carrion in that... I don't know.  Clones.  Gwen Stacy's death.  Something.

Anyway, take a look at this:

Okay... just in case I wasn't clear about it before, anything organic that gets touched by Carrion decays.  Everyone with me?  Okay.  Remember that for later.

But first, it's another appearance of Darter!

I'm thinking he needs to be in the Character Hall of Fame (tm!) because he amuses me so.

Anyway, back to this:

Oh, boy.  Another clone.

ANYHOO...

Do you think this "become one with Spider-Man" might have put the idea for the alien symbiote in someone's head which gave us Venom.

I need more Darter. 

Yay!  And look!  He's ready to kick ass and chew bubble gum!

Well, so much for that uprising.  And I admit, the fact that he's getting murdered notwithstanding, it's awesomely hilarious.

Why do guns in comics and movies and such always go off when they're dropped?  Firearms don't work that way.

Anyway, remember when anything organic that touches Carrion decays?

This:

Um....  I need a great sound effect right now.

There we go!

But remember how everything organic that touches Carrion decays?

This:

Okay.  Point made.

Time for the obligatory come-uppance:

Oh, no.  I am being hoisted on my own petard!

That's from Hamlet, by the way.

So is this:

Okay, we're getting far too highbrow for me.

See you soon!

GG-GGKK!

And we're back after yet another hiatus!  Hey, it's a marathon, not a sprint.  I figure we've got about another 5 years or so of this.

But back to PPTSSM.  A lot happened, but none of really funny.  It had some good Frank Miller artwork, though, which made it very collectible and 'spensive back in the day.

Anyway, Pete starts getting some rather ugly messages in the form of graffiti (this was before we could just troll each other online) and ends up here:

And then Pete obligingly gives us a rundown of his ailments, because nothing makes for more entertaining reading than a complete inventory of another person's discomforts:

Oh, no.  Is that Holly?  I thought we were rid of Holly.

No!  Don't reconcile, Holly!  You were right the first time!  Leave!  Leave him forever!

Hey, even better!

Aw, Pete.  You ruined it.  Every time Holly annoys me in the future, that's on you.

You know what I just noticed?  Holly changed ethnicity on us.  Remember her first appearance from issue #18?

I thought she was Hispanic.  But every issue after that has her as African-American and I didn't even notice until now.  This is why I would be a terrible eyewitness in a trial.

Oh, check out this guy:

It's amazing to me how many guys in comics can just slap glider panels under their arms and they can just go parasailing.  I'm not saying it wasn't gobs of fun in Just Cause 3.  It just doesn't make sense... unless you're Banshee, in which case it made perfect sense. 

Yes.  His name is Darter.  And he shot the White Tiger from behind.  And as you can see, even with a clean shot at point-blank range, he accomplished nothing.

Well, unless you count amusing me with this:

And it made no sense, because Carrion had taken out Hector not too long ago.  And I realize Hector had gone all White Tiger on us, but even so, I would think that if Carrion couldn't take out the Tiger, I don't know why he thought "Darter" would be much of a distraction.

So, time for the big reveal.  What's Carrion's beef?  We've waited several issues.

Oh, no.  More "Clone Saga" lore.  This we've GOT to see.

See you soon, Dear Ones!

All REET!

Well, we couldn't leave that "mistaken secret identity" plot thread just dangling, could we?

Considering he's basically got the powerset of Sinestro, I'm not sure why Lightmaster doesn't click.  But he doesn't.

But we've gone this far, so let's check in on his henchmen:

So, Ox doesn't want to answer any more questions.

He could have just asked for an attorney, but I suppose this works as well.

Okay, so we have a room filled with knockout gas.  Why is this important?

Because apparently Stark came up with a formula for gas that won't go through a large open area into an adjoining room.  Never underestimate the technology of Stark Industries.

But just in case we forget the real issue:

Well, he may be a being of pure, unstable energy, but there's nothing wrong with his mouth, am I right?  I'm not sure who he's talking to, but he do love him some recapping!

Oh, man.  It's art major Holly Gillis.  I thought we were through with her.

We can meet for coffee and talk about what an artist I am, even though I haven't been shown actually creating anything in the last several issues.

Thank you, Lightmaster, for interrupting that scene.

Whoops!  Losing those amulets is a problem. Considering they are directly tied into Hector's health, you'd think he might protect them by at least wearing them under his shirt.

Anyway...

Ah... Holly is playing games.  Gee, I've never seen a girl who played games with a fella's emotions before.  Only in comics, right?

Yup! Peter had not only seen them on the Sons of the Tiger back in Marvel Team-Up, but he had run into the White Tiger a couple of times... who again, wears the source of his power and his very life on a strand flopping around his neck.

This is actually a pretty good twist.  Let's watch it happen:

Don't make promises you aren't gonna keep, Holly.

So, Lightmaster has pulled off a rarity: Exposing a hero's secret identity to the world.  He's in the big leagues now, right?

Nope. He was taken out by nothing more than a power outage. Spidey and the Tiger didn't need to do a thing.  That's not quite as bad as dying off-panel, but still...  Ouch!

See you soon!

Lightmaster Should Probably Just Change His Name to "Mysterious Mastermind" at This Point. I Mean, It's Been Twice.

Hey!  It's time for a mystery villain!

Spoiler: It's Lightmaster again.  Yeah, the same "mysterious mastermind" we met at the start of the series.  I guess any time someone seems to be working behind the scenes, Spidey should see if Lightmaster has an alibi.  It would probably save a lot of time.

Here's the title:

Read it with a Brooklyn accent: "AGAIN with the Enforcers!  Oy!"

Well, we thought he was at the time, having died more than once (it's complicated) here:

MUCH later, we would learn that the Ox survived because death is rarely fatal in comics except for Ted Kord which still annoys me.

This is the Ox's brother, although we aren't told that this issue.  I guess the powers that be decided readers were only paying thirty-five cents here, so they didn't have to cover all their bases.

Sooooo... Lightmaster is recruiting the enforcers to do his dirty work and he plans on betraying them once they've served their purpose?  Like he did with Kraven and Vanilla Chicken?

Now, in defense of the story, the Enforcers aren't a particularly bright group of people.  This was also before cell phones, much less an internet or a Yelp, so the Enforcers would be clueless of this unless they called Kraven or Vanilla Chicken to check out Lightmaster's references.

Oh, man... look who's back:

Still stewing over the Frisbee incident?  You know, it's not like she threw a buzz saw blade at them.

Okay, we now see that Holly's "this is one art major" is her thing.  A) It's a way of speaking of herself in the third person and B) it's a way of letting you know she's better than the rest of us because she's an artist and don't you forget it.

Wow.  Who came up with her?  She's more annoying than Ambush Bug.

So, anyway, they're at the Coffee Bean and the Enforcers take everyone hostage to lure Spidey there, giving us an excuse for a great full-page panel:

And then Holly starts her stuff again:

YAY!  She's gone!  Yes!  I hope she caught some friendly fire from the police surrounding the building.

And then this happens:

I think Spidey is at his best when his dialogue sounds like it came out of a Bugs Bunny cartoon like that, don't you?

PLOT TWIST!:

Um... Holly was also in the diner during the battle.  Clearly.  You could ask her about it instead of casually murdering the wrong guy.  I'm just thinking out loud here.